To the Honorable the Circuit court in for
the County of St Louis in the Territory of Missouri

The petition of Milly a black woman who petitions
as well for herself as for her two infant children Eliza aged, about 4 years and Bob aged about 2 years -

That your petationer and her said children are
held in slavery by one Mathias Rose at St
Ferdinand in the County of St Louis and within
the jurisdiction of this court that your petitioner was removed into this territory about
2 years ago by the said Rose from the new state then territory of Illinois - and has been
held by him as a slave ever since - that your petitioner resided immediately preceeding her removal
into this Territory in the said Territory of
Illinois and had continued to reside there for
about the space of sixteen years. that the said Rose was also an inhabitant of that
territory and held your petitioner as a supplied> slave during, all that time.

She therefore that under the laws of Illinois & the ordinance of congress she is entitled to be free. Wherefore she prays
that she and her children above named may be entitled to sue for their freedom as poor per-
sons
in this honorable Court according to the
statute in such - and your petitioner -

Milly her mark

petition for freedom

filed a April 21st 1819
A Gamble clk

Territory of Missouri country of St.Louis The United States of America to the Sheriff of Country greeting.

We Command you to Summon Mathias
Rose that he be and appear before the Judge of
our court at the next term thereof to be
held at the town of St. Louis within and for the
County of S Louis on the first Monday of August
next then and there to answer unto Milly a free woman held in slavery and who is permitted by the
court to sue as a poor person of a plea of
trespass to the damage of said Milly of five
hundred Dollars. And have you then there this writ

Witness Archibald Gamble Clerk
of the said court at office in
St.Louis this tenth of may eighteen
hundred of nineteen and of our in dependence
Archibald Gamble Clerk

No 20
St. Louis Cicuit Court

This is an action fortrespass & false imprisonment damage, $500 let summons issue

R . Pettibone atty

Filed May 10th 1819

A Gamble clk

Executed by leaving a copy of the within
at the house of Mr Rose , with his wife in Ferdinand on the 11th May 1819

Joseph C Brown
Shff

Service.80travel1.50$2.30

August Term 1819.

claiming freedom

1. Plantiff is his slave

2. His indentured servant

filed Augt 3rd 1819 clerk

In the Circuit Court
August Term 1819

And the said Mathias Rose by Barton his attorney comes and defends
the force and injury when and says the said
Milly ought not to have or maintain her aforesaid
action thereof against him because he says
the said Milly at the said time when was
and still is the slave of him the said Mathias
Rose . To wit at the County aforesaid without
this that the said Milly is free in manner
and form as she above in her declaration sup-
poses
and this the said Mathias Rose is ready
to verify. Wherefore he prays judgment

J Barton atty to deft

And for a further plea in this behalf as to
the said assaulting imprisoning and detaining
in prison of the said Milly the said Mathias
Rose saith the said Milly ought not to have and maintain her aforesaid action thereof
against him because he saith that by a
law of the former Territory of Indiana in
force at the time of the removal of the

said Mathias Rose with the said Milly
as herein after mentioned it is enacted that
it shall and many be lawful for any person
being the owner or possessor of any negroes or
mulattos of and above the age of fifteen
years and owing service and labor as slaves in any of the united states or Territories of
the United States or for any citizen of the
said states or Territories purchasing the same
to bring the said negroes or mulattoes into that
territory and that the the owner or possessor
of any negroes or mulattoes as aforesaid and
bringing the same into that territory should
within thirty days after such removal go with
the same before the clerk of the Court of
Common pleas of the proper county and in
the presence of the said clerk the said
owner or possessor should determine and agree
to and with his or her negro or mulatto upon
the term of years which the said negro or
mulatto would and should serve his
or her said owner or possessor. and the said
clerk was thereby authorized and required
to make a record thereof in a book which
he should keep for that purpose, and the said
Mathais Rose further saith that before and

at the time of hte removal of the said Milly as
herein after mentioned he was the owner and possessor
of the said Milly who was above the age of
fifteen years to wit of the age of sixteen years and
who owed service and labor to him as a slave in
the state of Kentucky to wit at the county of
St. Louis aforesaid and being such owner and
possessor of the said Milly as a slave he the
said Mathias Rose heretofore to wit on the
twenty eighth day of november in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
five brought the said Milly into the County
of Knox in the said territory of Indiana
and that afterwords and within thirty days
after his removal with the said Milly as
aforesaid he went with the said Milly
before Robert Buntin Clerk of the Court of
Common pleas for the said County of Knox
and in the presence of the said clerk determined and agreed to and with the said
Milly that the said Milly should and would serve him the said Mathias Rose
and his assigns for the term of seventy years
from that date and that he the said Mathias Rose and his assigns should pro-
vide the said Milly with and

sufficient provisions clothing washing and
lodging according to her degree and station
and that from and after the expiration of
the said term the said Milly should be
free to all intents and purposes to wit at the
court, of St Louis aforsaid. By virtue whereof the
said Mathias Rose afterwards to wit on the day
and year last aforesaid took the said Milly
into his custody and service as his servant for the
the term aforesaid and hath ever since kept and detained and still doth keep and de-
tain the said Milly in his custody and
service as such servant as it was lawful
for him to do for the cause aforesaid using
no more force and violence than was abso-
lutely necessary to ensure the obedience and
service of his said servant to wit at the coun-
ty of SLouis aforesaid. Which is the same ass-
aulting, imprisoning and detaining in person
of the said Milly by her above complained
of and no other and this he the said Mathias Rose is ready to verify. Wherefore he
he prays judgment

J Barton atty for
deft

Territory of Missouri
county of St Louis ss United States of America By review of the act of the legislature of 1807.

To Mathias Rose your are hereby
commanded that the body of Milly a
in your custody detained (as it is said) you have under safe of together with the day of of her
detained by whatsoever name the said Milly
may be called, before the circuit court
in for the country of st. Louis in
the town of st. Louis in said county, immediately after the receipt of this writ, then
& there to sumbit to do, and receive what-soever
the said court shall in that
Witness Nathanial B Tucker Judge of said court at St Louis the fourteenth
day of August on thousand eight hundred & nineteen.

Mileage allowed
10 cents per mile

N. B . Tucker

In obedience to the command of the within writ, and
on the return thereof the winthin named Mathias Rose
says that Milly the within named black woman is not in his custody or possession and that on the
twentieth day of July last the said Milly absconded from the house and possession of the said
Mathias Rose , without his consent and against
his will, since which, time he has neither seen nor heard of her August
the Seventeenth 1819. St. Louis

his X Mark Rose .

Territory of Missouri , County of St. Louis , sct.The United States of America ,To the Sheriff of St Louis county, Greeting.

You are hereby commanded to summonLewis Rose Else Rose James McClune Mrs Hickman
that setting aside all manner of excuse and delay they be and appear in proper person before the Judge of our circuit court on thetwenty eight day of August at the town of St. Louis ,
then there to testify and truth to say in a certain matter of controversy now pending in our said
court wherein the United States is plaintiff,
andMathias Rose is defendant on the
part of the plff and have you then there this writ.

Witness, Archibald Gamble , Clerk of our said circuit court, at the
town of St. Louis , this 26th day of
Aug in the year of our lord, one thousand eight hundred and Nineteen
and of the Independence of the United States the forty fourth Arch Gamble Clerk, St. L . C.C.

Sub for

Lewis RoseElse RoseJames James McClunnMrs Hickman

Not executed for want of time 30th August 1819

John K Walker DShff4 non ests 2.00

And the Said Milly by Pettibone Attorney saith that the Said pleas of the
Said Mathias Rose by him above
and the matters & things therein contained in manner & form as the
same one above pleaded & set forth, are
not sufficient in law to bar or preclude her the said Milly from having or main
taining aforesaid action thereof against
him and that she is not bound by the
law of the land to answer the same and
this she is ready to verify Wherefor
for want of a suficient plea in this behalf
she prays judgement

R . Pettibone atty for plff

joinder in .

J Barton atty for deft

Dec 27

Filed A Gamble clk

St Louis Circuit Court

And the Said Milly by her attorney aforesaid
saith that as to the first plea of the
said defendant by him above plead and by reason of any thing thereing alledged she ought not to be banned
from having and maintianing her afore
said action thereof against him the
said Mathias Rose because she saith
that she is free in manner & form
as in the Said declaration is above
and of this she herself upon the country

R . Pettibone atty
for plff
And the said defendant the like

Replication

filed April 17th
1820 A Gamble clk

And the said Milly by Rufus Pettibone her guardian according to the form
of the statute in such case made & provided
by way of any suggestion saith that the first part
of the return of the said Mathias Rose to
the shown writ of Habeus Corpus when he says the said Milly is not in his custo
dy or possession is, evasive
and insufficient and as to the evidence of
the said return, she says that she did not
at the the when , or at any time since
abscond from the house or possession of the
said Mathias Rose in manner or form as he hath in his said return alledged
and this she prays may be

Pettibone for plff

Habeas Corpus

Missouri Territory St Louis County Court of the term of August in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred & ninteen

County of St Louis to wit, Milly a free woman of color
held in slavery and who is permitted by the Court
to sue as a poor person by R Pettibone her
attorney assigned as counsel by the said Court
complains of Mathias Rose of a plea of trespass
for that the said Mathias heretofor
to wit, on the first day of January the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred & nineteen at St Ferdinand in the County of St Louis
within the jurisdiction of this Court with
force & arms unlawfully an assault did make in & upon her the said Milly and then
& there imprisoned her the said Mily and
kept & detained her in prison without any
lawful cause whatsoever and hath ever since kept and detained and still doth keep and
detain her in prison against the will of the
said Milly and contrary to the laws of
this territory and other wrongs to her then & there did against the peace of the United States
of America and to the damage of the said Milly five hundred dollars and therefore she sues

R Pettibone